Tag: animal babies on safari

On the 7th of July 2018 we came across a very sad sight on our morning game drive at Garonga Safari Camp. We found the bodies of two young lion cubs who had been killed…and so began our murder mystery.

Identifying our Suspects and Victims

Unfortunately, life for a young lion cub is a tough one as almost every predator will kill them if they have the chance as it is all part of their instinct to remove competition and prevent the cubs becoming a threat when they are older. Whilst the pool of potential suspects was large, our investigative team was leaning towards an adult male lion as the culprit for the crime. The previous evening we had received reports of a pair of mating lions in almost the exact same spot.

Male lion from the Garonga Pride at Makalali Conservancy

It is always heart breaking to see any of the animals lose their lives, but the Garonga team was especially concerned that the dead cubs might be the two adorable trouble makers from ‘the Garonga pride’. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting them, ‘the Garonga pride’ it is made up of three feisty females; granny, mum and a perpetually curious daughter, two resident pride males and two heartwrenchingly mischievous cubs.

Playful lion cubs from the Garonga Pride at Makalali Conservancy

Tracking ‘The Garonga Safari Camp Pride’

For about 3 days our lions went into full stealth mode, and despite finding fresh tracks, they had retreated deep into the thickets and we saw neither hide nor hair of them. Now, as guides, strictly speaking you are not supposed to have favourite animals. However, the Garonga pride has managed to sneak its way into the hearts of our whole team and we were increasingly desperate to discover the fate of our cubs.

One morning it was quiet in the lodge so we collected together our expert trackers and set out to unravel the mystery once and for all. It seemed that the lions were missing us too as at about 5.30 that morning they had been calling. This gave us a heading and before too long we found our 3 females looking healthy and relaxed, but the cubs were nowhere to be seen. However, the cubs are still at an age where their mother will usually hide them in thick bush to keep them safe during the day.

A lioness (and mother) from the Garonga Pride in the Makalali Conservancy

Not to be defeated we left the ladies and picked up their tracks, tracking in reverse to look for evidence that our cubs were still with us. To cover the maximum ground possible we split the team with Josia, Samantha, Derrick, Stewart and Sophie on foot and Kaizer, Phineas and Bongi on the vehicle.

After tracking the one female through drainage lines and across some of our more open plains we had the best discovery – miniature lion tracks sitting on top of the dew from the night before and heading towards a thicket that would be the perfect place to stash a pair of cubs for the day. We radioed in the rest of the team and had a celebratory coffee stop, delighted to have discovered that our little troublemakers were alive and well. Later we slowly started heading towards where the cubs had spent the day and were rewarded with two little furballs full of energy chasing after mum and pouncing on each other. The relief was shared by the whole safari camp team and was enormous.

The Sad Truth

It seems that the two cubs who lost their lives were, in fact, from a rival pride that had wandered into the territory belonging to the Garonga males. It is always sad to see such a sight but a male lion’s instinct to kill cubs that are not his own is one of the harsh realities of the circle of life, it helps to ensure that the strongest genes are being passed to the next generation of lions, which in turn will hopefully help to ensure that we can continue to marvel at these incredible creatures for years to come. The life of a safari camp guide is never a dull one and this episode of Bush CSI [Crime Scene Investigation] is certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Adorable, fluffy, clumsy, playful and affectionate. You bet we’re describing the safari babies of the bush. Recent guest, Kelly, visited during the summer season when nature welcomed the little ones into the world of wildlife. She shares all of the precious moments with us.

Warning:Goosebumps, awws and warm, fuzzy feelings ahead!

“Garonga and its Makalali bush setting stole my heart during the 3 days we called it home.

Our visit was in mid-March, being South Africa’s summertime and because of the good recent rains the wilderness was alive and wearing its green summer leaves in all their glory.

It was magnificent to see it so lush, dense and beautiful. The abundance of food and water around made for very happy animals too and because of that we were treated to so many sightings, especially encounters with baby animals too.

It’s always special to watch the interaction of young wildlife in their family groups and the cute factor was on overload at Garonga during our game drives. We saw baby warthogs following their mom’s raised tail through the grass and toddler monkeys playing in the trees and on the tent decks. The most endearing moment witnessed was of a baby giraffe giving his mom a kiss on the side of the road.

However, the most unique sighting we were spoilt to was of a young male cheetah calling (or more like tweeting) for his mom to come back from the hunt and reunite with him. She returned his call and they found each other in the bushes as we watched on in awe. Then they proceeded to relax together and enjoy a well-deserved mid-morning nap.”

We also can’t forget about the handful of hyena cubs that gave mum a serious run for her money in the hot summer heat.

Garonga is certainly wonderful in any season, but it’s hard to beat the cutest season of all – baby season in the bush!